Senator J.B. Jennings introduced legislation that requires any person who is convicted of, or granted probation before judgment (PBJ) for drunk driving offenses, to attend an educational program offered by the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical System.

“Drinking and driving violations have remained consistent over the past 10 years. When someone gets arrested for a DUI, they tend to think more about the impact a DUI will have on their record, rather than think about how their actions could have impacted others. We need to change that way of thinking,” Jennings said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 32,885 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2010. Thirty-one percent (10,228) of those fatalities involved an alcohol-impaired driver. In addition, drunk driving costs the United States $132 billion a year.

The mission of the Prevention Program is to provide information regarding the consequences of dangerous decisions so adults can make a healthy, safe, and informed decision. This program opens with a slide show presentation and a review of medical equipment that a typical patient may have when admitted to Shock Trauma. Participants watch a video that presents several trauma survivors and/or families impacted by drinking and driving. The program is then augmented by a trauma survivor that shares his or her powerful story.

“I believe those convicted or granted PBJ for drunk driving offenses should be attending the Shock Trauma Prevention Program. This program offers a cognitive learning approach where the individual will learn by watching, reading and experiencing stimuli in hopes that the information will be processed by the brain and later recalled. My hope is the next time the individual is drunk or impaired, and get behind the wheel, they will remember what they saw in the program and not start the car,” said Jennings.

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Sounds good on the surface, but what is the data supporting effectiveness (e.g. reduction in repeat offenses)? Folks who drink and get behind the wheel need treatment. I think a more effective approach would be to order inpatient treatment earlier and make it available and accessible. Folks should be made to pay for their treatment or work it off in some way. Otherwise, there is no investment. Addiction is a multi-faceted problem, and requires a coordinated approach.

seeing human impact may not affect everyone driving drunk/impaired but it will ABSOLUTELY make a difference.
Drinking alcohol requires we look at Total Cost …and that mean taking action leading to higher degrees of safety, more taxis being taken, better outcomes end-of-nite, furthering commerce, etc etc

I should have said that MANY people whodrink and get behind the wheel have an alcohol problem that needs treatment. You don’t need to be a “falling down drunk” to be alcoholic. People who drive drunk have a judgment issue at best. All I was saying is that the program sounds like a good complement to trying to reduce the problem of drunk driving but there is much more to it. Having people look at how their drunk driving can impact someone else’s life will only go so far for many of these people, who don’t even comprehend how their own drinking behavior is destroying their life and the lives of their own family. We need to be looking at how to help people with better coping strategies for daily living and mental health issues overall.

To mandate that all offenders attend ONE specific program is dangerous. There are multiple prevention programs available throughout the state of Maryland and no one program deserves to have a monopoly on prevention education. Several DUI/DWI offenders are often sent to multiple programs to receive the maximum amount of education. MADD, Positive Alternatives to Dangerous and Destruction Decisions (PADDD) and our local Health Departments also offer programs that are effective and that work. If we want to mandate anything for all DUI/DWI offenders, lets mandate Ignition Interlock!